DALLAS — AT&T* announced last week a local high school student won a chance to go one-on-one with Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki to help remind wireless users that texting should always be avoided while driving.
Shaun Breland of Dallas, who attends Duncanville High School, joins Dirk Nowitzki at American Airlines Center on May 16 for a shoot-around and coaching session. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came to him as the winner of a contest in which fans wrote a message to Dirk in 160 characters or less about their personal thoughts on texting while driving.
Judges ruled that Shaun Breland had the most inspiring response, entitling him to not only participate in the ultimate one-on-one experience with Dirk but to also receive tickets to a future Mavericks game, opportunity to interact with Dirk onsite at American Airlines Center and dedicated time for a personal interview. “To me texting and driving is really selfish,” wrote Mr. Breland. “You are putting your life in danger and other drivers’ lives in danger as well. I would rather live than die to texting.”
“We know texting is now part of everyday life, but nothing is so important to risk lives,” Nowitzki said. “It only takes seconds for that message to mean the difference between life and death. It can wait. I appreciate Shaun and the hundreds of fans who entered the contest and provided their personal thoughts and messages on why no one should ever text and drive.”
“Spending some time on a court shooting baskets with Dirk is a dream come true,” said Shaun Breland, a lifetime Mavericks fan. “He’s not only one of the greatest basketball players on the planet, but he has inspired me and so many of my classmates to take the pledge.”
Earlier this year, AT&T visited 10 high schools across the Dallas Metroplex to show teens the dangers of texting while driving. To enforce the message and make roads and highways safer, AT&T brought a virtual reality simulator to the schools, allowing students to experience firsthand the dangers of texting and driving in a safe, controlled environment.
While onsite, students had the opportunity to take the pledge to not text while driving as well as enter the contest for the chance to go one-on-one with Dirk Nowitzki.
It Can Wait is a national movement tapping into the power of social media and personal networks to make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving. It urges drivers to visit www.ItCanWait.com, where they can pledge not to text and drive, and share their pledge with others via Twitter (#ItCanWait) and Facebook.
